Opposite Ends
by BlackNymph
Summary: In which Kaiba is kidnapped by the Lord Voldemort, and the usual 'magic doesn't exist' banter ensues.


When Kaiba woke, he noticed three things immediately: one, the lights were off; two, he was chained to a chair – which was most assuredly _not _his – and three, and this was the most important, he was not in his office. He growled in aggravation, struggling against his bonds, his mind really only focused on one thing: who in the _hell _was stupid enough to _dare _take him away from his work? Why they had taken him was just as much a mystery to him, but once he escaped and paid-back his captor, the whys weren't really all that important.

"Come now, Kaiba-san," came a heavily accented voice in the darkness before him. "Do you truly believe I would go through all this trouble to make the bonds so lax? You give me so little credit..." The voice sounded dismayed by the very thought, but the icy chuckle afterwards told Kaiba otherwise.

He narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. "Yes, forgive me," he snarled in response. "I shall take into consideration your immense valiance next time I see you away from your shelter in the dark."

The voice chuckled again, and Kaiba was greeted with the sight of two shockingly red eyes in the darkness; slowly, around the eyes began to form a face, sickly pale and barren of anything resembling humanity. Where there was supposed to be a nose were two simple slits, flaring lightly with every breath their own took and giving the face a vaguely snakelike quality. The lipless mouth was tilted upward in a smirk, cruel and knifelike, and Kaiba felt his anger rising.

"Your pathetic mask doesn't scare me," he snapped, still fighting against the rope that held him prisoner.

The smirk widened and became significantly more knifelike, and the man lifted a long, thin...something, muttering a word Kaiba didn't understand. The tip of the something flashed brightly, making Kaiba flinch only somewhat; the man waved his thin stick, and the room erupted in a flash of light.

The man lifted a pale, thin hand, gesturing elegantly to his face, the thin smile never leaving it. "As you can see, Kaiba-san, this is indeed no mask." As the man spoke, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and his tone became bitter. "The after-effect of my life's choices, you could say; the manifestation of all the dark magic I have consumed."

An audible scoff at that. "Again with this ridiculous talk of magic?"

The pale man canted his head, looking amused. "Of course I speak of magic, Kaiba-san. As a wizard, dark or not, there is little else to speak of, lest I dirty my tongue with talk of_your _kind."

Oh, really now. Kaiba had about had enough of this. Was he truly the only one left with half a brain and enough sense to use it? "Magic doesn't exist," he replied haughtily. "And wizards certainly don't either."

The amusement in the other's face increased visibly – indeed, the pale man looked thoroughly entertained. "No? I suppose that would mean you aren't tied to a chair, then, are you, Kaiba-san?"

The CEO snorted. "Just because I'm tied to a chair doesn't mean that 'magic' did it." He smirked a bit, despite the fact that he still couldn't move his arms – and, indeed, could barely feel them anymore. "You can tie a simple knot, so that makes you a wizard? I guess that would make me a god, then. Or perhaps an all-powerful non-entity, though I much prefer the first title."

The thin stick flicked upward once again, and more ropes shot from the end and wrapped themselves around Kaiba's legs; although rather miffed, he refused to show it, and snorted derisively.

"That proves nothing. Your little swizzle stick was filled with ropes, and there was a button that ejected them in a way that made it seem like they can tie themselves." He fixed the pale man with a sharp glance, sneering, "That doesn't mean you can do magic. It just means you have an opposable thumb. Congratulations."

"Of course, Kaiba-san. I suppose that would be why you cannot move your legs, hm? After all, the ropes cannot be tied – " Kaiba tried to cross his legs pointedly, frustrated when the ropes had somehow tied themselves; the other man looked terribly amused. " – and since the ropes are not tied, this can be a civil conversation that has both of us – busy men, to be sure – on our way by the end of the hour." He smiled, deceptively cheerful.

Kaiba snarled. "Release me now! I will not be held captive by the likes of you, you ridiculous man!"

"Absolutely," the other said loftily, swishing his stick lazily – the ropes about Kaiba's legs fell to the ground and vanished. "Once you've told me everything you know about something called the 'Millennium Ring'. I do believe you've heard of it?"


End file.
